Wormwood Essential Oil Benefits and Uses You Need

Also known as Green Ginger, Armoise, or Absinthium, Wormwood (Artemisia Absinthium)  is a perennial herb that grows from up to 1.5 meters (5 feet). It is best known for its various health benefits. In Ancient Greece, it was used to treat menstrual pain, rheumatism, and jaundice. It was also used to relieve fever, as well as to expel worms from the body.

Wormwood Essential Oil is derived from the herb’s leaves, twigs, and flowering tops through a process called steam distillation. Its most dominant components are alpha and beta-thujone, making up about 50 percent of the oil.  The thujone or ketone is also the reason why it is not advisable to use this essential oil for aromatherapy. Though it can be beneficial in that it helps kill parasitic worms due to its antihelminitc/vermifugal properties, if not taken in the proper amount, it can cause some side-effects, such as convulsion and visual hallucination, and hyper-excitability. Currently, the Committee of Herbal Medicinal Products prescribes that the maximum daily intake of thujone be 3-5 mg for a person who weighs 70 kg.

Wormwood Essential Oil Benefits

This oil comes with a lot of benefits, and these include:

  • Improves mood and relieves stress
  • Expels parasitic worms from the body
  • Relieves congested bile conditions (e.g. intractable biliary constipation, mild hepatitis, jaundice)
  • Relieves fever
  • Tones up the body

Wormwood Essential Oil Uses

  1. Wormwood Essential Oil as a Narcotic. Most of the time, narcotics have a negative connotation on some people. But actually, if taken in the right amount, it can be beneficial, as it can improve mood and aid in symptoms of nervous afflictions, convulsions, insomnia, stress, and even hysteric and epileptic attacks.
  2. Wormwood Essential Oil as an Antihelmintic/Vermifuge: This oil has chemical properties that are toxic for parasitic worms. It quickly kills tapeworms, pinworms, round worms, and hookworms that are present in the human body.
  3. Wormwood Essential Oil as a Chalagogue: A good bile formation and flow is vital for the body. Given the chalagoguic property of this essential oil, it allows for the stimulation of bile from the liver, which is of great help in the digestive and assimilatory processes. It treats the symptoms of indigestion and enables the easy digestion of substances that are fat-soluble. Moreover, it detoxifies the liver, preventing abdominal bloating, excessive abdominal fat, acid reflux or heartburn, and excessive perspiration even.
  4. Wormwood Essential Oil as a Febrifuge: As said previously, Wormwood contains a chemical property called thujone, both alpha and betha. It is these two types of thujone, if taken in the right amount, that enable our body to kill the microbes that inhibit the growth of infections. So it kills the viruses and bacteria, which causes people to have a fever.
  5. Wormwood Essential Oil as a Tonic: It helps in various parts of the body, digestive, circulatory, excretory, endocrine, and nervous wise. Digestive wise, it aids in the proper absorption of bodily nutrients. Moreover, it helps the circulatory system distribute these nutrients throughout our body. It helps tone up the excretory system by freeing the body from unwanted toxins and materials. Its effect on the endocrine system includes the proper discharge of enzymes and hormones. It also boosts the immune system, by providing protection from infections.

Aside from this oil’s health-related uses, Wormwood Essential Oil also serves as an insecticide. Moreover, its dry-woody, herbaceous-green scent is what makes this an ideal fragrant component for several manufacturers of soaps, cosmetics, perfumes, and even deodorants.

Wormwood Essential Oil Side Effects

Taking too much of this essential oil can cause nervous afflictions, restlessness, convulsions, and impulsive behavior. It must also be noted that this should not be taken as a permanent medication, as prolonged use may permanently damage not just the brain, but also the nervous system. It can result to insanity. Furthermore, taking this in large doses can have narcotic effects that can be harmful rather than beneficial. It can also be highly addictive.

How to Use Wormwood Essential Oil

  • It is not advisable for aromatherapy use. If it’s used when massaging, it can be topically applied to the skin, provided that it is diluted in a carrier oil. It works best with sweet carrier oils, such as Avocado and Coconut Oil.
  • It can be taken for complete parasite cleaning.

How to Make Wormwood Essential Oil

This essential oil is extracted through a steam distillation of Wormwood’s leaves, flowering tops, and twigs. The Wormwood is simmered so as to produce a steam, which travels through a tube that is run through cold water. Condensation will happen, separating the water and the oil compound. The oil compound makes up the essential oil.

Wormwood Essential Oil Recipe

  • Recipe for Parasite Cleansing.

Add 2 drops of this oil in a quart of water. For adults, the recommended intake is ¼ cup, which must be taken twice, daily, for 5 days. If you don’t encounter any adverse reactions, continue for 30 to 90 days for a complete parasite cleansing.

  • Recipe for Topical Application

For adults: Add 2 drops of this oil for every teaspoon of a carrier oil of your choice. So, for every ounce of carrier oil, add 10-12 drops of Wormwood Essential Oil.
For children, pregnant women, elderly adults, and people who have a sensitive skin:  The recommended amount is 1 drop for every teaspoon, so it’s 5-6 drops per ounce of carrier oil.

Where to Buy Wormwood Essential Oil

It is commercially available at stores that sell essential oils.  There are also online stores that offer this type of essential oil. Healing Solutions and Plant Therapy are two of the trusted brands that sell Wormwood Essential Oil. Just a caution, be keen of what brand you are going to choose. Refrain from buying products from companies that sell different types of essential oil at flat rates.

More Information on Wormwood Essential Oil

  • If used in a pure or concentrated form, this oil can be harmful to the skin surface, which is why it is advisable that it be mixed first with a carrier oil before using it topically.
  • If you have epilepsy tendencies or stomach ulcers, do not take this essential oil.
  • Some more compatible combination oils for this essential oil are Cedarwood, Chamomile, Clary Eucalyptus, and Sage.